For a few years now I’ve secretly hankered after a fake tree. For me all that fuss and mess, the lop sided tilt that no amount of propping up ever sorts, has lost its charm along with the never ending pine needles that in our house often linger well into the spring. Before now I’ve never quite plucked up the courage to broach the subject though, rightly, as it turns out suspecting the outrage that might ensue.
I wasn’t disappointed…
Fake trees are so sad…
Are you trying to sabotage Christmas?
You mean you never really enjoyed it when we all went to choose the tree?
I’m minded at this point of being in the car with a monster sticking needles in my ear, and various other uncomfortable spaces.
I tell them, it’s not the naff idea it once was. That fake trees are getting cooler and more stylish by the year. I tell them that, according to the Independent, of the (approx.) 8 million Christmas trees that were cut down last year, it is estimated that around as many as six million, that’s enough to stretch end to end from London to the North Pole and back, will be incinerated or dumped into landfill sites in Britain once the festive season is over.
I gathered proof - this beautiful metal work tree, can be dismantled and stored in a box – already years old it still looks as good as new.
Or this one, made with sticks and string and decorated with fairy lights and a few bits of greenery.
And this one! Spectacularly made by a clever friend with scrapped floorboard, using a central broom handle pole and extra holes made for plant pots.
Finally, this, with a little creative thought, making use of what you already have.
Now you’ve reduced costs, saved space, and a trip in the car with the Needle Monster, there’s nothing to stop you having more than one ‘tree’… I know someone who has three to date!
Would love to see pictures of your tree alternatives…
